When Love and Death Embrace
by Corpses and Cats
Summary: When Lydia makes a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, she has no intention of upholding her end of the deal once she has everything she wants. What if Rumpel planned for this? All for the downfall of her lover. But after he ends her life, an unforeseen struggle arises in his to protect his own love, Sarah, from vengeance.


{Disclaimer thing: Alagaesia, Galbatorix, Shruikan, and Durza belong to the author Christopher Paolini. Lydia and Sarah are OCs. Any other characters belong to Disney or OUAT/IW}

Lydia Intro

In the land of Alagaesia not so far from the Enchanted Forest over the sea, there lived a young woman named Lydia. She was not of noble blood, but she was not quite a peasant. She was somewhere in between, as she was not in poverty but instead her family was close to the aristocrats and proud to work for them. Several magicians came from her family, and she too was gifted with magic.

Lydia was a quiet girl, and she was one who would rather have a few close friends than many she couldn't trust. One friend was Sarah, who lived over in the land across the sea. She came to visit from time to time, often delivering messages to the court or exchanging resources whilst maintaining positive relations between the lands.

Then there was Durza, a great shade whose power was rivaled by none here, as it had been he who taught the king dark magic. His magic was a more unique sort, as he was possessed by many dark and powerful spirits. He couldn't handle many humans, but Lydia was one who was dear to him. She was a wonderful student, and he could say he truly enjoyed her company.

Lydia possessed a magical crystal. It was very special, but to anyone else it would be no different than a regular mineral. Exceptional in quality and smoothness but without any ability. But it was bound to Lydia's heart, and it displayed her desire. Over the years the visions were the same. She would watch the man the crystal had matched with the characteristics dreamt of within her heart.

But this man lived far, far away, and she knew she would never truly see him. Not in the aspect of him seeing her. Maybe it was for the best. She would be devastated if he had no interest in her. And why would he? There was no reason for him to care for her. Perhaps they did have something in common - a love of magic - but it would take more to be worthy of him. It was a sad situation, but what was there to do about it?

She had to accept she needed to forget him. But how could she? A part of her wanted to toss the crystal into the ocean where never again could she conjure his images. Another part, a much greater part, wanted to keep watching him. She knew she loved him. She also knew this love would only hurt her and keep her from ever liking another man in the least bit.

He remained in her thoughts as he always did. She had both kept the crystal and accepted she would never be with him and no one could compare to him. Now, however, her acceptance was pushed aside when she learned of a sudden, upcoming marriage to a man she had never even seen. He could be ugly! He could be stupid! He could be ugly AND stupid! Her pillow collected many tears. What could she do? She couldn't endure the weight of fear and the horror of being trapped. She couldn't stay.

Her parents were angered by her resistance to the plans. She had hoped and prayed they would understand and call off the marriage - if not call it off, put it off! But no. They had adamantly refused.

One night she slipped out of the house at the darkest, stillest hour. She had intended to sneak onto a ship and reach the Enchanted Forest, but now there was no need. The man she sought was here instead, in the dark and dreary woods, leaning against a tree with a smirk on his face. "There you are, dearie."

She flinched hard and turned to him. After catching her breath, she asked, "You're him, aren't you? Rumpelstiltskin?"

"The one, the only." He waved his hand. "Sarah's told you of me I presume."

Lydia nodded. "Yes. Of course she has. And you can help me?"

"It's not a question of can. It's a question of will." he answered. "Nyehheh~!"

"R-right. Will you help me? I can't... I can't marry this guy. Please. Please help me! I do not love him. I do not know him." she pleaded as she shivered from the cold of the night.

He rolled his eyes. "I know, dearie. Your love is for another. I don't need a crystal to read your heart."

"How..." She shook her head in dismissal. It didn't matter how he knew. "Okay, well, what... What can help me out of this mess? I'll do anything."

He smiled widely. "Anything? Be careful what you wish for. Anything? Are you sure about that?" he asked darkly.

"Well, yeah, I need out of this. I need a new life. Can you do that? Can you..."

"Tell me your desire. Can... I... _what. Say it!_"

"Make me a princess!"

He materialized a contract. "You've got it. For a price. It's not a hard task, I promise. The challenge is getting him to truly love you. We'll discuss the details later concerning what I need you to bring me."

"Um, what? You want me to sign something without telling me what it is?"

"I have other matters to attend to, dearie. If you're that wary, we needn't make the deal. I'm far too busy to go over it in its entirety. You're not as desperate as I believed..."

"Do you promise it's easy?" she asked. Then he handed her a quill.

"Yes. I'll help you even. I'll help you in wooing your man, then all you must do is bring me something of his I want. Something I want quite a bit."

She signed the document, and he took it from her.

"Excellent. When you awake, your life will be what you've always dreamed of, save for the man. You'll have to talk to your new daddy about him."

Rumpel vanished in a puff of smoke, and nervously Lydia returned home. Vaguely she wondered what would happen to her parents now. Would they completely forget everything about her? Would they think she's dead? There was guilt, but... Well, they should have cared more about her feelings. Right?

She was successful in returning to her bed after some time of watching the sky and hoping the deal would work out well. With thoughts of her ideal lover filling her heart, she slipped into a slumber laced with both excitement and worry.

When morning came, a disorientation set in when she found herself in another room. It didn't take long to recall the previous night's events though. Slowly she moved around the room, examining all that was now hers. There was so much jewelry. Many beautiful dresses. And perhaps best of all was the bookcase. Before too long, a servant entered and helped her get dressed and ready for the day, doing her hair and makeup.

She left the room after some time, exploring King Galbatorix's castle. Other servants greeted her, and it was all a magnificent experience.

When she wound up in the throne room, her eyes met those of an enormous, black dragon.

"Princess Lydia, why does Shruikan trouble you? You should fear him least – he reacts best to your touch, after all!" said a servant who was exiting the room.

She faintly smiled and nodded. She'd never seen Shruikan, as he never left the castle. She would have to trust the servant's knowledge. Lydia carefully approached him and reached out to touch his snout. He purred and closed his eyes as she caressed his scales.

She spent time with the great dragon, and when she glanced to the door way again, Durza was leaning against the wall.

"Tell me everything." he said.

"What do you... What do you mean? Tell you what?" she asked.

"My power is too great to allow me to be ensnared in this illusionary spell." he stated. "_Princess_ Lydia... I am most interested in hearing how you've accomplished this."

"Have you heard of..." she lowered her voice, "Rumpelstiltskin?"

"Lydia... You shouldn't be..." He sighed and looked toward the ground. "He's dangerous, I hope you know." His eyes returned to hers, and he stepped closer to her. "Were you so bad off you needed to be royal? You had a home. You had food. You're even literate. You were already fortunate."

"Are you angry?" she inquired.

"I am not angry. I am concerned. However... I will not be revealing this scheme of yours to anyone. It's your business. Not mine. You can make your own choices, and I know you will see to it that you do. Still... You are a naive child. Brilliant and talented... but blind to the world and its true wickedness. Should you fall into a trap of his, I cannot interfere. It will be your own battle. I simply hope you know what you've gotten yourself into. I will do what I can, but it's a difficult situation... Anyway, what is this all about? Join me in the library."

She followed him to another floor. Maybe he was right. Maybe this was not a good idea after all. But neither was her previous life. "I'll be fine..." she said, but was it more toward herself or toward the shade?

"Do not trust Rumpelstiltskin. Do not trust anyone but myself." Durza said after Lydia explained it all. "If you do as he requires, you should be fine. Though, I must say, it was quite idiotic to sign the damn thing. He craves making deals. He would have explained had you demanded it. He wouldn't really resist it. Secondly, I believe uniting the kingdoms would be very beneficial. We are low on allies. I will speak to your 'father' for you about the matter."

"You will? Oh, thank you! It means a lot... I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I'm getting closer to my dreams." Lydia stated.

"Well, while you're here." Durza materialized a spell book. "Let's resume your studies."

They spent the rest of the morning together until Lydia was feeling very hungry and headed downstairs for lunch. Later on in the day, she was found in a corridor by none other than King Galbatorix.

"Lydia! There you are. Durza told me of the man you wish to court you? I looked into it, and I am very pleased with you. You have an excellent judge of character. It does elude me how you even know of this man, but I am definitely interested in this. I will contact Jafar within the week. The ruler of Agrabah... how very interesting indeed."


End file.
